The Grand Traverse

So what better way to spend a long weekend than by a bit of a bike ride?  Coach Dave decided that we should have a go at the three passes - Porter's Pass, Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass, by way of a bike trip over Canterbury's anniversary weekend.  Being intrepid athletes, six of us eagerly signed up and assembled on Friday morning complete with bikes, clothes and stacks of food to keep us well nourished and hydrated throughout our journey.

Andi, Simone, Toni, Dave, Curly, Brendan and Chook - ready to go

The plan was to drive inland to Springfield and then start biking from there.  We would head over the first pass (Porter's) and then continue onto the village of Arthur's Pass for our first night.  Day 2 would see us ride over Arthur's Pass, and then head north to Reefton, via Moana, for our second night.  Our third and final day would involve a climb out of Reefton, over the Rahu saddle to Springs Junction and then over Lewis Pass, stopping at the Engineer's Camp where we would load up the bikes and drive back to Christchurch.

Friday dawned sunny and hot in Christchurch.  A stunning spring's day that actually felt more like the middle of summer.  Andi was joining us for her first overnight bike trip with the group while Simone, Curly, Chook and I were becoming old hands at Dave's expeditions.  This time around we were also joined by new boy on the block, Brendan.

The set up was pretty standard and much the same as the Hanmer Springs and Methven weekends.  First up, a van that could take us with bike trailer which could take all our gear.  The back of the trailer had large warning signs so motorists knew cyclists were ahead as well as an orange flashing light sitting on top.  Everyone in the group would take turns driving the van, tailing the peloton and providing the bailout option if anyone ran out of "gas".

I was due to drive the first stretch, from Springfield to Castle Hill, on day 1.  Driving this leg was fantastic in my eyes as it meant I didn't have to bike up Porter's Pass.  Yep, I'm much better at hills than I used to be but still relatively hopeless and this one was the steepest of the three.  Before we started, though, there was the requisite coffee and muffin stop.  In Springfield we called in at the Yelloshack Cafe, located on the main road, right next door to their Springfield donut, right out of the Simpson's movie.  The carrot muffins were divine - a taste treat with raspberry on top and chocolate inside, well worth a separate journey back at a later date!

The donut was hilarious - when the Simpson's movie came out, various towns called Springfield were "honoured" with a huge pink donut erected to celebrate its release.  Springfield in Canterbury was the New Zealand location for this and it was a huge structure which attracted its share of fans and detractors.  In September of 2009, however, the donut was set on fire.  It was left a partially charred mess and most people thought that would be the end of what many considered an eyesore.

But no, on our arrival in Springfield, we discovered that the donut lives on....as a much smaller tractor tyre!!!  Definitely not the imposing structure of old, but painted in the original pink colour and in keeping with the agricultural nature of the region.  I didn't get a shot of it (doh!!), but this photo of it partially completed gives you the idea...

The peloton heads towards the mountains

Anyway, after getting our fill of muffins, coffee and picking up lunch everyone set off.  Six in the peloton and me tailing them for this first leg.  Porter's Pass came up reasonably quickly and before I knew it I was guiding the van up the climb with the speedo registering at 0 km/h.  About three quarters of the way up Simone and Chook decided to climb into the van and so I stopped to help load the bikes and ferry them to the top.

Staying safe with the high viz vest

At Castle Hill it was time to swap drivers and I was really glad to finally get going on two wheels rather than four.  That happiness was moderated, however, by the gale force headwinds that were coming through the mountains.

We continued a gradual rise for the 54km journey from Castle Hill to Arthur's Pass and had no respite from the wind the whole time.  We therefore had a relatively slow average speed of just over 20km/h and it became almost a case of surviving the 2hr 30min ride while at the same time enjoying the stunning scenery.

What a great way to see the country.

We finally rolled into Arthur's Pass and it was great to unpack everything at the house that had been rented for us all.  The fire had been lit and the evening was spent relaxing (and refuelling with such treats as lasagne and tiramisu).  By 9.00pm we had all headed to bed (such party animals!).

Unpacking at Arthur's Pass

The next morning was cool and clear.  We were awake at 6.00am and by 8.00am we were ready for a long day.  Chook, Simone and I headed off 30 minutes before the rest of the group.  We were slow on the hills and there was a decent climb up to Arthurs Pass before a huge descent on the other side to Otira and then Jackson's where we would stop and regroup with the others.

Within about 2km of climbing up to the pass our clear, cool, day had changed to cold pea soup.  We had climbed into the cloud and I reached the summit of the pass barely able to see 2 feet in front of me.  Chook was somewhere ahead of me and Simone behind but none of us were in sight of each other.  I had been looking forward to the descent however it turned into a slow progression, heavy on the brakes and hoping all the way down that a car didn't come along.  About halfway down I passed Chook who was taking it even more carefully.  Thankfully I was wearing a fluorescent yellow vest, however the visibility was so bad it would have been nice, in hindsight, to have had the whole group together with the van right behind us.  We'll know this for next time!

Thankfully the visibility improved as we dropped down the gorge.  By the time we were out of the gorge the sunshine had arrived again and we regrouped at the bottom of the hill and then had a fantastic run down to Jacksons where we waited for the rest of the group.

Regrouping at Jacksons

After Jacksons we took a right turn and rode around Lake Brunner to Moana and, after a quick drink stop there, carried on out to Stillwater, picking up State Highway 7 which would take us up to Reefton.

This part of the trip was a bit flatter - a couple of climbs but predominantly downhill before a slow rise up towards Reefton.  Once we got past Stillwater we also finally found a tailwind and got some great stretches in at a good pace.

Around lunchtime we found a spot to stop on the side of the road and sat down to devour sandwiches and cake.  At this point it was my turn to have another stint at driving and so I followed the group again, managing to get a great shot of them alongside a coal train...

Lunch stop

Encountering a West Coast coal train

About 27km from Reefton we had another quick stop and I got back on the bike for the final run in.  It was a great ride and we rolled into town at about 3.00pm.  My day had been 120km and 4 hours 25min ride time.  Our unpacking finished, we sat down for a quick drink and a feed of nice salty chips (perfect for replenishing salt in the body(!)) and then carried out our standard routine of washing all our gear ready for the next morning.  The courtyard looked like a real chinese laundry with all our gear draped out over plastic chairs in the sunshine...

Day three dawned a little overcast but still warm.  It looked like another perfect day for riding.  At the relatively slothful time of 9.00am we were all packed up and wandered over to the Broadway Tearooms and Bakery for breakfast.  Half an hour later, and with stomachs full of eggs, toast and bacon (and in one case fruit and muesli) we headed off for our last day of riding.

It was a steady climb up the Rahu Saddle and through the beautiful beech forest of Victoria Forest Park.  While we climbed, though, the drizzle started and so the van was stopped so we could add some additional layers of clothing.

It was a group of six very wet and cold riders that rolled into Springs Junction and the weather didn't look like it was going to clear any time soon. 

Andi, me and Curly - ready to leave Reefton

Extra layers added for the rain

With the constant climbing the pack soon spread out a little and I maintained my position at the back - getting dropped at the climbs but catching up again on the descents and flat sections.  Towards the top of the saddle (and the last climb) Dave had hung back to wait for me and in the rain I saw him about 100m ahead raise a hand in the air as he went over a rise and started downhill.  He was celebrating the final climb before Springs Junction and so when I got to the top I let the bike go and went for it.

It was bucketing down with rain by this stage but I still managed to catch up with Dave and, as I went past him, yelled out "Woohoo!!!".  The poor bloke didn't realise I was coming and just about fell off his bike.

After just over 40km of riding and 1 hour 45 minutes ride time, we pulled into Springs Junction.  Everyone was soaked to the skin and pretty cold and the weather didn't look like it was going to clear anytime soon.  As a result the decision was made to call it a day rather than risk hypothermia on Lewis Pass.  Afterall it's not going anywhere!

So we all got changed and sat down for a coffee and round of hot chips before heading out and loading the bikes onto the trailer for the drive home.

All in all a fabulous weekend.  Disappointing that we didn't get to do the third pass, but you can't do much about the weather and there'll always be next time.

All in all, a great way to see the country.